


Big Bert

by natsora



Series: The Misfortune of Reyes Vidal [7]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Awkwardness, Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Humour, Light Angst, No Smut, Nudity, Porn Video, Post High Noon, Pre-Relationship, post archon's ship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26121916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natsora/pseuds/natsora
Summary: The last time Vidal and Ryder saw each other was at the end of a three-way standoff on Kadara. Things didn’t end well then. When a message brings him to Nexus, he finds Ryder looking particularly lively for someone who just died days ago. What starts as an awkward encounter ends with him in bed with Ryder. Somehow, it’s his worst nightmare.ReadThe Sighing Conditionfor the deets on High Noon
Relationships: Female Ryder | Sara/Reyes Vidal
Series: The Misfortune of Reyes Vidal [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1241561
Comments: 10
Kudos: 22





	Big Bert

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: One mention of family violence that resulted in a death.

“Kate, you died, okay?” 

“Well I got better.” The retort came lightning quick. 

Reyes hesitated at outside the med-bay doors. Medical personnel shot him odd looks as he stopped, holding up the traffic. A turian glared at him, mandibles pressed tight against her face as she brushed past him to enter. Voices loud and curt drifted out from between the doors every time it slid opened. He came as soon as he could after the not-at-all-terrifying message from SAM. It contained all of one sentence. 

> Ryder needs you, come now. 

No context, no details, nothing but the Hyperion’s co-ordinates and the address to the med-bay. Oh, it wasn’t concerning at all. Not-at-fucking-all. 

Now that he stood here, listening to the Ryder twins argued. The contents of which was concerning to say the least. 

“Please, just let them check you over,” Keith said, frustration lacing through his voice. 

“I have, I’ve been kept in the med-bay for days, Keith, with electrodes all over me where places the sun don’t shine.” Keith made a strangled noise, no doubt he shared the same wince on Reyes’ face too. “I am fine. Harry found nothing wrong with me, neither had Lexi. And I’ve work to do. Andromeda won’t fix itself,” Ryder pointed out. 

“Fuck, you’re just so stubborn.”

“Pot, meet kettle,” she growled. “I’m done here. Can I go? Harry? Lexi?”

Vague muffled noises of affirmations drifted out as the door hissed opened again. Ryder strode out. She had her head turned away as she walked out, waving dismissively at her brother. And she slammed right into him. Reyes caught her before she lost her balance. 

“Oh fuck, I am so sorry—”

Ryder stared. Reyes couldn’t read her expression, but he saw the shape of his name forming on her lips, then it stopped. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

They had not been in contact since Kelly died. What happened at the Draullir caves went as wrong as it possibly could while still working out in his favour. Ryder’s words still rang in his head when he had time to stop and breathe. 

> You should have told me.

She was right, he should have, but he didn’t and now here they were. As much as he prided himself in being a resourceful man, he didn’t possessed the ability to turn back time. So that was how they left things — truncated, snapped and complete with frayed ends. 

“I got SAM’s message,” Reyes blurted. What else could he say? It made no sense to be coy, SAM would tell her when he lied. At this point, they really didn’t need more lies between them. 

“SAM, what the fuck did you—” 

She didn’t get to complete her question because the door opened again. Keith yanked his sister by her shoulder so that he could insert himself between them. “What the fuck are _you_ doing here?”

Reyes said, “SAM—” 

“Well SAM isn’t killing her now, is he?” Keith spat, lifting his fist up. “He is just hellbent on meddling with everything in her life.”

Reyes’ eyes widened. Oh this wasn’t distrubing at all. Was this why SAM summon him? And what was this about SAM killing Ryder? He stared at her, trying to determine if she was favouring one side over another, if she had bandages underneath the Initiative uniform, but she looked fine. Hell, she looked _fine_ even, because she shoved Keith off her, all fire and grace. 

“Stop this!” she snapped. 

This was the Pathfinder, the warrior in the field, the one he saw through back at the Draullir caves. Reyes took a couple of steps back. Getting in between the Ryder twins seemed like a terrible idea. 

Ryder got right into her twin’s face. “Back off Keith, I have had enough of this. What happened isn’t SAM’s fault. I gave him permission, explicit permission. It was informed consent. You don’t get to override my agency just cause you don’t like where things lead. I am the Pathfinder, it is my responsibility to make sure everyone gets out alive. It’s my fucking job.”

She stepped away, face red, chest heaving, before glancing Reyes’ way as if remembering he was there. He tried to to look as innocuous as the paint on the wall. 

“Kate, be reasonable—”

Ryder didn’t wait for Keith to finish his sentence, she grabbed Reyes’ hand and walked away, he was not given a choice. She hadn’t even allowed him to face the right way around, so he had to totter backwards as best he could. Keith shouted for a bit before Lexi stopped him. By then, they got too far away to hear what they spoke about. 

Once they got on the tram, Ryder let go. She sank into a seat without a word. He hesitated for a bit before he joined her. Studiously, he kept his eyes forward. Their reflection shimmered and shifted on the glass window opposite, almost as if Ryder’s anger distorted it. Reyes wished he could reach out and provide some comfort, but he wouldn’t, not if he wanted to keep his hand. 

Things clearly weren't all right. SAM was right to get him here. He had never seen Ryder like this. 

* * *

The silence in the tram remained stifling. Vidal might not be looking at her, but he stared at her reflection. She could concern radiating from him. It wasn’t… unwelcome. She straightened, lifting her eyes to meet Vidal’s in the reflection. Neither spoke. 

The tram stopped. Ryder didn’t know where they were, but she didn’t care, she stepped out. Vidal followed. She didn’t know where she wanted to go, she just wanted out of the med-bay. After the fucking debacle on Archon’s ship, she had enough of everyone fussing over her. It was suffocating. 

Glancing around, she realised they were at the Docks. The Tempest’s gleaming white lines visible ahead. As long as it wasn’t the med-bay, she was good with it. 

The airlock cycled and opened. Without a word, she strode to her quarters and entered. Things were how she left them, before her heart stopped, again. She pressed a hand against her chest. Vidal hastened to her side. “Are you all right?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she snapped. The silence raked across the air like claws against her skin. “Sorry. I just…” She collapsed onto the sofa. _Words, how do they work?_

“Your brother is a real asshole huh?” Reyes offered her an opening as he settled down next to her. 

Ryder snorted. “How much did you hear?” She toed her boots off, without bothering to unlace them so they remained stuck to her feet. She sighed and bent over to tug at the laces. 

“Enough to know he is an asshole.” Reyes rested his ankle on the knee of the opposite leg. 

There it was again, that opening. She might as well indulge. “Yes, he thinks just cause he is bigger, taller and has perfect fucking hair, he gets to boss me around. Who the hell does he think he is?”

Reyes sat up. “Wait, wait, wait,” he cut in. 

Laces undone, she freed her socked feet from the confines of her boots. She sighed contentedly. 

“Your brother’s hair look like this everyday?” Reyes asked. 

“Right out of the fucking bed, yes.” Ryder sighed. “See the standards I have to live up to? See why it's such a tragedy for hair products manufacturing not to be prioritised?” 

She ran her hand through her hair. It was getting long again, and they had started to curl at the ends. No amount of blow drying fixed that, and she didn’t have the damn time for it. She was the Pathfinder for fuck’s sake. This cluster had a strange tendency to catch on fire when she wasn’t paying attention. It needed a fucking nanny. 

From there, the conversation somehow veered towards Keith’s hair and her woe-is-me childhood and teenage years attending the same school as Keith. The tales just spilled from her lips without care. The awkwardness fell away, the tight knot she carried in her chest since the Draullir caves somehow disappeared between the hours she sat next to him. 

Vidal… He had been the Charlatan this past few months in her head. The shape of his name hadn’t graced her lips, she hadn’t even to dare to think about him. It hurt, it still did, because she did care about him, hell _for him_ even. However, it didn’t seem prudent to get involved with Reyes Vidal the man, let alone getting embroiled with Reyes Vidal the Charlatan. They were a package deal, buy one get one free. 

She yawned, pressing her hand against her mouth to hold it in. “You're spreading the yawns,” Vidal said, stifling one himself. 

She chuckled. “I’m tired. I think I’m going to bed.” Shoving her feet back into her boots but not bothering to lace them up, she trudged to her bed and sat down. She stared at Vidal, then at her bed. “Oh.”

Vidal laughed. “Don’t worry about it, I should leave anyway.”

Ryder squeezed the bridge of her nose and shook her head. “And sleep where? Unless your fake identity came with an assigned room, it’s going to be the uncomfortable benches at the Docks until the shuttle travel start up again in the morning cycle. Come on, don’t be stupid. The room is large enough for both of us.”

He glanced at the sofa. “I can sleep here if you don’t mind.”

“Yeah that works.”

Vidal tossed the tiny cushions to one end, making himself a small pile. 

Ryder frowned. “You’re sleeping in that?” He noticeably wasn't wearing the set of Initiative uniform she had gifted him as a joke early in their collaboration. Instead, he was dressed in his usual Kadara grab, dusty jacket and all. “That’s not going to be comfortable. Let me find you something better. We have spare hoodies and sweat pants lying around.”

The first place she tried was the laundry room. The laundry room was nothing more than a tiny closet where they had a pair of all-in-one sonic washer and dryer set up. Everyone got assigned a day to do their laundry. Body suits had a separate washer of its own because they were disgusting and had different needs. Their combat armour had a whole other protocol for cleaning, what with potential alien contagions and all. Even after blasting her combat armour with UV and then subjecting it to chemical washes, she’d still find unimaginable things stuck in the seams. _Eiroch guts anyone?_

He braced his shoulder against the door, keeping it open. “Are we stealing clothes?”

Ryder lifted her head from the cubby she rummaged around in. “Something like that.”

His face paled. “Ryder, it's fine I can just sleep in these. They are not as uncomfortable they look. I don't want anyone to be pissed off over clothes.”

She made a sound of victory. “Found it.” She tossed the clothes still shrink wrapped in plastic at him. “I'm only technically stealing,” she explained. Vidal started ripping the packaging apart. “After Eos’ Vault activation, Tann decided to reward our literal blood, sweat and tears with a set of Initiative hoodies and sweatpants.” 

"Yay," Vidal drone flatly. 

She chuckled and rolled her eyes dramatically. “Right? Well, everyone got a set and not everyone liked them. Peebee, for one, said it crimped her style.”

“Is this Peebee’s?” he asked, still fighting with the packaging.

“You wouldn’t fit into Peebee’s.”

“Then, whose—”

The package gave way, and the garment came spilling out. Ryder picked one end up while Vidal took the other. She didn’t need to match it against his shoulders to know it was too big. “Maybe it will look okay once you put it on?” she suggested through peals of laughter. 

Vidal sighed and pulled it on without taking off his clothes. The hoodie sagged past his knees. “Whose is this?”

“Drack’s,” Ryder managed to answer through her giggles. “He never wore it.”

“I’m glad you’re finding it so funny,” he said as he swung one end of the sleeve in her direction. She caught it, and her laughter turned into a sort of giggle snort. 

“Please don’t tell me you’re crying.”

“I’m not, I swear I’m not.” She hastily dabbed at her eyes. 

They managed to wrap it back in its packaging and stuffed it back into the cubby it belonged. “Okay, now what?” Vidal asked, panting slightly from the effort. 

Ryder beckoned for him to follow, leading him to Liam’s room. Vidal and Liam were of similar height, but where Liam’s was muscular, a body honed from combat, Vidal’s was a lot leaner, probably due to the less than stellar diet one had available on Kadara. 

She didn't look forward to getting teased about having Vidal on board. The crew didn’t really know what happened, she provided only scant details, enough to explain what happened but not how it all went down. Ryder knew Cora had her suspicions, but she never voiced them. She wasn’t about to confess to shooting Kelly either. 

She had no intention to shoo Vidal off board like he was some dirty little secret. He was… She glanced over her shoulder and found him peering at the Nomad curiously — something — she figured. An ally for sure, but not quite a friend. Regardless, she wasn’t going to be ungrateful and get rid of him, especially he had travelled all this way just to… Wait, why did he come? No doubt more of SAM’s meddling. 

She stopped outside Liam’s door. “Please I hope nobody’s naked this time.”

“What’s that about being naked?” Vidal chimed from behind her. It was too late to get him up to speed, she had already pinged the door. 

When it opened, it felt like being a car crash. No, that's not right either. All other car crashes she had been in before were filled with lots of panic and screaming. She felt completely calm here, just filled with a sense of ever growing dread. 

First, a small gap revealing nothing she could make out. As it widened, she saw Liam standing in the middle of his room, his bare back facing the door. She couldn’t tell if he wore anything below his waist because his work station blocked them. 

“Liam, are you decent?”

“Huh, what?” Liam stepped away from the workstation, and Ryder braced herself. She really didn’t need to end her night by seeing her crew mate’s genitalia. “Oh it’s you, Ryder and… Berto?”

“Berto?” a second voice repeated, a decidedly angara one. Some thing shifted against sheets. Then, Jaal popped his head out from the back of the room. 

Ryder’s eyes narrowed. Wasn't that where Liam’s bunk was and… Jaal _was_ completely and utterly nude. She sighed. This wasn’t her first rodeo. To show embarrassment, even second hand one, was to show weakness. Liam would tease her mercilessly. She didn’t need that. 

“Stay where you are,” she said, stepping in. Vidal’s surprised hum — did it sound appreciative? — was the only sign he saw what she did. “Yes, that’s Vidal. Let’s get that out of the way. Do you have a spare set of Initiative hoodie and sweatpants? I need to borrow them.”

Liam’s eyes widened, but he bit his tongue. Clearly, it took an enormous amount of self control because he literally vibrated with glee. 

Jaal had no such compunction. “Oh, you wanted mine?”

Vidal made a strangled noise behind her while Liam burst out laughing. “Jaal I’d suggest you stay where you are before you give our Pathfinder an aneurysm.”

“No wait—.” Ryder blurted as Liam stepped out from behind his workstation. 

“Relax, I’m wearing my pants all right?” Liam shook his ass in her direction to prove his point before going to the crates piled on the floor and rummaged through them. 

“Wait, you keep your clothes in there?” Ryder frowned as she did her best to ignore Jaal standing in plain view of everyone, naked and unafraid. “Are they clean?”

“Of course, they’re clean,” Liam retorted. He tossed at Ryder. She caught them deftly and made a face. “SAM reminds me to wash them.”

“Yes Pathfinder, I had to remind Operative Kosta an average of five times more frequently than the others. My success rate has improved once I’ve started informing Operative Ama Darav of his lapses.”

Liam coughed. “SAM, you don’t have to spill all my secrets.”

Ryder mimed a vomiting action and handed the clothes to Vidal. His eyes were wide, so wide the whites laid stark against his dusky skin. “Is this how it is like everyday on the Tempest?” he asked. 

“No—”

Jaal approached, and Ryder squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m told humans shake hands as a greeting.”

“We do,” Vidal replied. 

When she opened her eyes again, the pair shook hands. Vidal had the look of a pleasantly confused person. 

_All right, it’s time to go._

As she started nudging Vidal towards the door, Liam called out, “Wait.” He walked over, his eyes narrowing as he studied Vidal’s face. 

Watching Liam's facial ballet in slow motion was fascinating. The soft gasp of recognition, the narrowing of his eyes as they darted between Vidal and herself, and the way his lips formed an O of knowing. What the fuck did she just watched? 

Liam wrapped an arm over Vidal’s shoulder and pulled him close so that their faces nearly pressed together. Ryder leaned in closer. This was probably going nowhere good. 

“How do you do that move?” Liam whispered urgently. “I need some tips urgently.”

“Move? What move?” Vidal asked, trying to untangle himself from Liam. 

Liam glanced over his shoulder at Ryder, his grin only widened. “Oh okay, keep your secrets. I’d ask Ryder tomorrow.”

“What move?” she asked. 

Liam blushed. He fucking blushed. _Okay, time to fucking go._ It was prudent not to ask questions she didn’t want the answers to. This was going nowhere good. Ryder tugged Vidal by the ends of his jacket and dragged him towards the door. 

Jaal stood with one arm on his hips and waved at them as they left, completely at ease with his nudity. “Good seeing you around again. It has been a tense couple of months since we last visited Kadara. I’m glad to see you and Ryder has made up.”

Ryder’s face was probably on fire — no her hair had caught alight. They had to leave _now_. 

When they got out of the cargo hold, she patted her face to make sure it hadn't completely charred. If she had friends like Liam, she would never ever need enemies. 

"Is that what it's like to be Pathfinder?" Vidal asked, his tone kept utterly innocent. 

Ryder could feel the amusement rolling off of him. She sighed. "Don't you start, or I'd reconsider my offer."

He raised his hands up in mock surrender. 

She pointed out where the showers and bathroom were before retreating to her quarters. Five minutes later, he returned changed. They looked at each other awkwardly. Her boots lay on their sides by her bed, her legs folded on the mattress. She had the blanket drawn up around her shoulders. He stood mid-way between the door and the sofa. 

"Do you need a blanket?" 

Vidal shook his head. 

"Do you need a pillow?" she asked. "A proper one."

"No, I'm fine. Really."

"Okay." 

Silence stretched between them. Neither moved. Vidal cleared his throat while Ryder scratched the back of her neck. This wasn't high school or her first sleep over, why the fuck was she acting this way? Vidal was an ally, that’s all, a sometime colleague. They were just sharing a room for the night. No big deal. "Okay, I'm going to bed," she declared. 

"Yeah, me too."

Like time resumed, Vidal walked to the sofa. Ryder heard the hiss as his weight depressed the cushions. "No funny business," she blurted. 

He laughed. "I promise, Ryder. I am not such an asshole."

"I will be watching," SAM chimed in. 

Ryder blinked. The still air rang with potent in the wake of SAM's declaration. No, this wasn't ominous at all. She knew SAM looked out for her, got her out of a jam back on the Archon's ship, one that she didn't blame him for, after all she had consented to it. This felt almost scary, something she’d expect from her father. Exactly how much of her father’s personality was in SAM anyway?

"Okay…” Ryder said. "Good night."

"Good night," Vidal replied. 

Ryder toggled the master light switch from her omni-tool. The room plunged into darkness. The only source of illumination came from the diffused lights that lined the wide broad walks of the Nexus. It wasn't so bright that sleep would be impossible, but nobody would trip and break their neck if they had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. The sofa protested as Vidal shifted to make himself comfortable. Despite all the protests she had made while under medical observation, dying took a lot out of her physically and mentally. She was tired. Snuggling against her pillow, she closed her eyes only to snap them open again. 

Music was playing. For a while, she couldn't be sure if she was already asleep and dreaming or it was happening right this moment. Soft at first but growing steadily louder, the opening bars were familiar. A drum, a bass and that fucking guitar, she frowned. 

"Are you hearing this?" she asked into the darkness. 

"Oh, you're hearing it too?" Vidal replied. "Where is it coming from?"

She toggled the lights on. Her music player was off, her omni-tool didn't have the music app active either. Craning her head, she closed her eyes, trying to determine where it came from. The music, now loud enough, came from the Tempest's comm system. 

_Every breath you take and every move you make  
Every bond you break, every step you take, I'll be watching you_

Ryder sighed. "Ryder?" Vidal called. "Is that a message for me?"

  
_Every single day and every word you say  
Every game you play, every night you stay, I'll be watching you_

"I think so," she groaned, rubbing her hands over her face. She really didn't need this. A protective twin was one thing, a protective AI in her fucking head was another thing. SAM got to stop doing this. 

"SAM, can you please stop?"

_Every move you make, and every vow you break  
Every smile you fake, every claim you stake, I'll be watching you_

SAM didn't reply. With the AI's processing speed, this could only be deliberate. She turned over to Vidal who had leaned around the edge of the sofa to look at her. "Have you got the message, Vidal?"

His eyes, a little wide and wild, but he nodded. “Yes, most defintely, message received." His voice pitched a little higher than usual. "Loud and clear."

"Good night Ryder," SAM replied. The music stopped instantly, the lights turned off at the same time. "Good night Mr. Vidal."

Ryder settled back down on her pillow and closed her eyes, willing sleep to take her. "Ryder, your AI isn't going to murder me in my sleep right?" Vidal whispered. 

"No," she replied with her eyes kept resolutely shut. "And you know he can hear you right?"

"Oh, okay." 

Ryder suppressed a chuckle and rolled over. 

* * *

Reyes groaned and pressed his face deeper into the pillow. Something woke him, but he couldn't say what. Lying on his back, he blinked. It took him half a second to remember where he was. A soft whimper shattered the silence. He sat up. Bare feet padding across the space to check in on his roommate. 

Ryder had her face half smushed against pillow. Shadows thrown across her. The blanket coiled around her body like a snake threatening to strangle her. Her brown hair tumbled over her face in a messy cascade, but yet he found the sight particularly endearing. She jerked again, brow creasing, and whimpering again. Reyes’ chest shrank two sizes down and his chest ached. Ryder’s fingernails scratched and clawed desperately at the back of her neck. She was going to draw blood at this rate. 

“Ryder,” he called out. His hand hovered in the air, remembering SAM’s most ominous warning about watching him. “Fuck it.” Throwing caution to the wind, he grabbed Ryder by her shoulder and shook. “Wake up!”

Ryder jerked up right, her eyes wide and wild as she scanned the room for danger, her hand already going for her pistol. Reyes took a deep breath and pretended not to have noticed the sheer fear in her eyes. She groaned and bent over, burying her face into her hands, taking gulps of air to calm herself. He noticed he still had his hands on her shoulder, in fact he was rubbing his palm over her back. Was it inappropriate? Was it unwanted? He didn’t want to stop. 

Slowly, Ryder’s breaths calmed, but she still shook. Tiny tremors rippled down her spine and across her arms. She sighed. “Not very Pathfinder-y, huh?”

“Who cares?” Reyes retorted, keeping his tone as neutral as he could. Pity wouldn't go over well. “You’re off duty now. You can just be Kate Ryder.”

Ryder lifted her head and looked at him. Her face dry, but her eyes gleamed in the dim light. "Thanks."

It was but a simple word. Somehow it meant more than he could explain. Even though the panic had faded, Ryder sat hunched over, shoulders bowed by the nightmare. It wasn't that great a leap to figure it had something to do with the "death" her brother was so concerned about. Turns out, Keith wasn't overreacting. 

"Do you think you can sleep?"

Ryder shook her head, her hair fell over her face. She pushed them away irritability. 

Reyes hummed, considering his options. It was late. They barely had more than an hour of sleep. He didn't know what the morning cycle would bring for Ryder, but he couldn't stay away from Kadara long. His return shuttle had already been secured. If he could spend it with Ryder, keeping her company, comforting her, it would be well worth it. 

"What about a movie?"

She didn't speak, instead she scooted over on her bed, offering him space. He slipped under the covers next to her. There was a moment of hesitation, then she pressed up next to him, leaning her head against his chest. A thrill ran down his spine, undeniable and it only left him craving for more. Pulling up his omni-tool, orange light splashed across their skin, he asked, "What do you feel like? I don't have many vids."

“We have loads. Liam shared his collection with everyone." 

She scrolled idly across her omni-tool, a strand of hair stuck against her brow, her eyes narrowed in concentration. Reyes wasn't paying attention to Ryder. He focused on the warm weight pressed up against him, doing his best to keep his hands against his thighs. He would be proper. He had no intention getting murdered by Ryder's murderbot one bit. 

There wasn't much in life he had done in the right way, he had made plenty of mistakes along the way, but Ryder was the one thing he wanted to get right. If she would let him. The whole thing with Kelly had been a disaster, one that he didn't think he would be able to salvage anything from, but maybe — he glanced at Ryder — he still had a chance. 

Ryder started shaking. Reyes stiffened. Fear tightening the muscles across his shoulders. Was she having a panic attack? Why wasn't he paying attention to Ryder when he wanted to do better? 

He shifted and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Ryder?" he called out gently, lest he made things worse. 

She pressed a hand against her mouth as high pitched noises escaped her lips. 

_Fuck, she's crying now. What should I do?_

If it was any other girl, he would hand her some tissues and pretend to listen to her woes, but this wasn't any other girl, this was _Ryder_. He peered at her, trying to look past the curtain of hair hiding her face. Whatever it was she tried to hold back proved too much, she lifted her face and — burst out laughing. 

Reyes stared, confused at the turn of events. "Are you all right?"

Ryder brushed her fingers against the corners of her eyes. Oh shit, she was definitely crying. But what was with the laughing? This was more serious than Reyes had initially realised. 

"Do you want to watch—" she said before dissolving into splutters and giggles "—a movie starring Big Bert?" 

Reyes stared at her, more bewildered than anything else. Okay, maybe he had it all mixed up. "You're feeling okay, Ryder?"

"Oh, never better," she managed to say through suppressed laughter. "So what do you say? Big Bert?"

A creeping dread crawled down his throat. He didn't like that mischievous glint in Ryder's eyes. He recognised that look all too well. Nothing good lay at the end of this question. He didn't want to know the answer at all. 

She poked her elbow against his ribs. "Big Bert?" Eyebrow wriggling, she grinned. "I hear it's pretty good."

Reyes took her arm, angling it so that he could see the display on her omni-tool and blood drained from his face. Ryder never laughed louder. 

* * *

Vidal's eyes stretched so wide, they looked like they'd pop out of their sockets. Ryder laughed. The moving image on her screen featured a pair of naked men. One of them lay flat on his back, his head twisted to face the viewer with his eyes closed in orgasmic bliss. The other attached to the first man, his butt to the first man's groin, legs splayed out in a split, twisting like a corkscrew around the first man's penis. The title "The Twister featuring Big Bert" flashed prominently behind the pair.

He forced a laugh and attempted to dismiss the screen. "Maybe some other movie. Big Bert doesn't look too interesting."

Ryder pulled her arm away. "Really? I thought it'd be interesting especially when the lead character looks so much like you."

"Me? No, no." He squinted at the image. "That can't be me and shook his head. Come on, maybe movies are not such a great idea. You'd be too awake to sleep."

Ryder knew she had him on the back foot. This was the time to press her advantage. "SAM, do you think the person in the picture looks like Vidal?"

"No—"

It took no time at all for SAM to get back to her. "Facial analysis determines there is a 85% similarity." 

Vidal groaned and covered his face. There was no hiding that blush even in the dark room. 

"Is that you?" She nudged him in the ribs. His reply got muffled between his hands. Sitting up, she pressed her face against his and asked, "What's that?"

"It's not me, it's my brother."

That sounded incredibly convenient. "85% is still pretty high." She paused, waiting to see Vidal had anything else to say for himself. Glancing at the stats, the video touted 90 minutes of pure and utter pleasure for the viewer, especially if she opted for the full VR experience complete with sensory dildo, pressure pads— All right, that was more details than she needed. She glanced at Vidal, a sly smile on her lips. "Maybe we should watch it just to be sure it's not you," she suggested, finger reaching out to start the movie. 

Vidal grabbed her wrist and grimaced. If the bottom of the Tempest fell out, he would have been a happy, happy man, but alas reality didn't work that way. He sighed, scrubbing his face with his hand. "Please. That would be ill-advised, extremely ill-advised“

It almost sounded like he spoke from knowledge. That only made Ryder all that more curious. "The Twister looks… interesting though.” 

If Vidal was a praying man, he’d be doing that now. Instead, he just looked resigned. She chuckled, but she also recognised how uncomfortable he looked. Making a big show of it, she dismissed the display, and it plunged them back into darkness. She wasn’t _completely_ merciless. 

“So that was your brother?”

Vidal nodded, he took a breath and seemed to just hold it in. Ryder shifted and placed her hand on his arm, realising she might have stepped on some kind of landmine. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

He shook his head and snorted. “No, he’d be howling his head off if he knew.” Making himself comfortable, he braced his arms against the headboard and she snuggled against him. “We’re poor growing up. With a dead beat dad who drinks what credits he earned and mom juggling three jobs just to feed and cloth us three boys, it's amazing how we all survived.” 

Ryder listened. She hadn't seen this side of Vidal before. He was always a man of mystery, private and tightly controlled. This wasn’t how she pictured the way her day would go when she woke up this morning. 

“I am the eldest, Javier the middle and Antonio the youngest. We were thick as thieves growing up. We drove our mother crazy, constantly getting into trouble.” 

Something shifted in Ryder's chest, undeniable and solid. That wistfulness in his eyes, far away and soft, did something to her. She... like it. Sighing, feeling a little sad, knowing what Vidal saw no longer existed — 600 years long gone.

"So Tony, being the youngest, he felt the need to prove his worth to all of us, to pull his weight in the family. He always came up with get rich quick schemes. And acting in porn movies is — was one of them." Vidal chuckled, his eyes shining. Ryder stifled the urge to brush her fingers over them, taking the tears from him. "He, the little fucker, registered himself as Rigoberto Vásquez, of course he did, because our mother is going to kill him if she finds out. Well, the producers saw through it right away, but this is the porn industry, they don't care about that. All they care about is your..." Vidal's eyes drifted towards his crotch and grinned. "You get the idea."

Ryder nodded for him to go on. She didn't know how long this would last, but she liked this side of Vidal. Shy, almost embarrassed at times, but also kind and gentle, she couldn't help but wonder what made him seal that part of him away, to become the Charlatan. 

"Well, let's just say the producers loved Berto and then that got shortened to Bert. Once the movie was made, he got really excited about it. We could tell, even our mother, but obviously he wasn't going to tell her what got him so excited. So he had to share it with me and Javier."

"You watched?"

Vidal laughed, this one started from his belly, vibrating through his chest and out of his mouth, a genuine one. She couldn't help but join in. 

"So how was it?"

"Let's just say it was" — Vidal smirked, his usual confidence back but tempered by his trip down memory lane. — "eye-fucking-opening."

"Did he make more?"

The smile slid off his face, his gaze darkened as he drew Ryder's arm back across his lap. He triggered the interface, and Big Bert doing the Twister flared to life again. Ryder's mouth went dry. She knew the answer before he spoke. 

Vidal shook his head. "He died not long after finishing it. My father went on one of his drunken rampage. Tony... He defended our mother. And..." He couldn't seem to go on. Ryder felt the guilt radiating from him. 

Kadara wasn't where the Charlatan was born, it was there when his youngest brother died. It lit something in young Vidal, pushing him down paths where he learnt to protect himself, his family, his friends and anyone he thought deserved it. Maybe the showdown between Kelly and Vidal was as botched as it was inevitable. Ryder certainly didn't fault him for his intentions, but she still wished he trusted her a little more. 

His grip tightened over her wrist, dragging her from her thoughts. Though his fingers left an imprint on his skin, it wasn't painful. It felt like he sought for a handhold as he got caught in the riptide of memories. Ryder slipped her fingers between his and just held on. She felt bad. If she had known, she wouldn't have poked fun at him like this. 

"Hey?" 

Vidal hummed. 

"What are some of Antonio's other get rich quick schemes? 

Silence greeted her question. For a while Ryder wondered if she had just put her foot in her mouth, maybe they were both better off going to bed. This was only going to lead to sad memories. Vidal shifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders. The weight felt right. 

“Well, he used to pose as a Nigerian Prince and tried to get people to send him credits that way.”

“Did it work?”

“No, of course it didn’t. Then he tried selling our entire district to off world investors. _That_ didn’t work either. He thinks it’s because he didn’t sound old enough or those fake visual and vocal filters he buys off the extranet didn’t make him look distinguished enough.”

Ryder sighed. “I would have liked to meet him.”

“He would have loved you. I think you two would have gotten on like houses on fire.” 

She noticed something now that the display was up in her face. These vids sat on the Tempest’s server so that everyone could accessed them. The user interface included a counter at the corner logging who watched what when. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know Liam had watched The Twister ten times. Hell, if she wanted to, she could just hit that counter and find out if those ten times were accidental activation or something else altogether. Her traitorous eyes refused to look away, her finger twitched and the breakdown popped up. Liam had just watched earlier today. 

“Why, why, why?” she hissed at herself. 

Vidal realised what she was looking at, and he groaned. “You realise this is why Liam was giving me weird looks earlier right?”

Ryder sighed. “You’re probably right. And _the move_ he asked about had got to be the twister.”

His sigh joined hers. For a while neither spoke. Ryder’s eyelids drooped. Having Vidal’s warmth against her, her nightmare fading and exhaustion creeping up on her, she was falling asleep. But she had one question burning at the back of her mind. “That’s not possible, is it?”

“What?” Vidal sounded as sleepy as she did. 

“The move,” she said, her words muffled as she yawned at the same time. “Have you tried it?”

Vidal groaned, his chest vibrating against her cheek. “Please go to sleep, Ryder. I beg you.”

Chuckles lingered at the back of her throat even as she fell asleep. This time, the Archon’s claws never reached her. 

* * *

A scratch-scratch sound raked across Reyes’ awareness. He frowned and turned his head into the pillow. The bed felt soft and comfortable. This had to be the best bed in Andromeda, but that sound assaulted his ears. Peeling an eye opened, he realised where he was instantly — Nexus, The Tempest, Pathfinder’s Quarters, Ryder’s bed. 

Typically, he would rouse himself and make a hasty retreat. Andromeda, more accurately Kadara, was filled with dangers. As the Charlatan he couldn’t let his guard down. However he knew he was safe here. Sighing, he allowed himself to laze. 

Ryder had half her uniform on. Her pants hugged her waist and hip snugly, rounding out her butt perfectly. A shirt and a hoodie laid discarded on the bed, no doubt tried on and decided against. She had a pair of sports bra on, her muscles shifted subtly under her skin. That slender yet strong back bore so much weight and responsibility. Scars stood out against her pale spacer skin, some larger, others smaller. He stifled the urge to reach out and soothe them. He noticed what had been making the noise — a comb. The teeth raked through Ryder's hair. Vidal couldn't tell if it was bed head or just genetics. Brown hair topped her head, mostly straight but where hair met shoulders, they curled. 

Scratch-scratch, the comb went through her hair over and over again. Reyes blinked. _Did one tooth just broke off?_ He couldn't help but run a hand over his hair. It was most definitely not their usual well coiffed self. He had spent a good chunk of his morning working on it yesterday.

The hiss of a drawer being pulled open drew his attention. Ryder stuck her head in it as she rummaged around. It didn't take too long before she emerged with a triumphant hum and extracted a slightly crumpled looking zipped up hoodie. Shaking it out, she pulled it on. As she turned back towards the bed, her eyes widened, and then narrowed dangerously. "How long have you been watching?"

"Not long." Reyes sat up, hiding his thumping heart with the Charlatan's easy confidence. Studying her face, he asked, "Are you mad?"

"No, SAM told me the moment you woke up," she replied, standing with hands on her hips, her hoodie loose and unzipped. The person standing in front of him right now was a heady mix of Kate Ryder and the Pathfinder. The slight upward tilt of her chin as she smiled down sent electricity jolting down his spine. That smile slammed into his chest like am intoxicating mix of poise and boldness. She sighed. "So are you getting out of bed? I can't leave you here."

Reyes stretched. "Yes, that makes sense. Let me go freshen up."

He emerged from the bathroom to find Ryder waiting for him outside. "I'm ready to go." As the words left his lips, he realised he wasn't, not truly. Coming to the Nexus, seeing Ryder had done him more good than he had realised. 

Ryder gestured for him to follow when her omni-tool buzzed. She sighed. "One second. I need to send off a couple of APEX assignments."

They walked to the central console. As they entered, the door that led down to the cargo bay opened and Jaal strode in. Thankfully, no alien penis made an appearance this time. Once was enough.

Jaal came over and shook Reyes’ hand again and strode off towards the shower without a backward glance. 

Liam, on the other hand, who followed close behind, threw a pair of finger guns at them. Ryder rolled her eyes and headed straight for the console. She got to work right away. Reyes bit back his urge to sigh and said, "Good morning to you too."

Liam wasn't deterred, he came right up to Reyes and whispered, "So, did you use the move yesterday? The Twister."

He wouldn't deign to answer. To say the question was disrespectful would be putting it mildly. 

"I heard that," Ryder growled from the console, her eyes not even lifting from the screen. "And done."

Liam grinned, not at all affected by Ryder's tone. Reyes wished he could strangle the man. Maybe he could seek forgiveness later, after he had done the deed. Hell, Ryder might even welcome it. She walked over and joined them. "Let's go."

Reyes followed, cringing as Liam cheerfully shouted, "Bye bye Big Bert."

Ryder made a strangled noise but didn't stop to take him to task. Reyes bumped her shoulder. "Can I kill him?"

She laughed, leaning against him. Her hand brushing against his. "After I've killed him, you can kill him again." The spot where her skin met his tingled.

Shoving the old reservation about getting involved with the Pathfinder aside, he hooked his fingers against his. When she didn't pull away, his heart did a tiny jiggle of celebration. "Deal." 

"Murder is frowned upon, Pathfinder," SAM chimed up from Ryder's omni-tool. 

They sprang apart. "Damnit, SAM!" she exclaimed.

Reyes laughed, and Ryder joined her voice with his. 

**Lyrics taken from[Every Breath You Take by The Police](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOGaugKpzs)**

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up on my [Tumblr](https://natsora.tumblr.com/). Kudos and comments are always welcome!


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